This Morning.

This morning I spent some time getting to know the Study Notebook on lds.org.

Which, by the way, I highly recommend.

I'm from the "age of information",

I love my technology, hyperlinks, and databases.

This one is super cool.

I read the First Presidency Message for the Relief Society lesson later today.

Of course, I bookmarked, highlighted, and noted things...on the site...and it saved them.

Yes, all the things I love.

Then I started reading the Sunday School lesson but got distracted by the fact that I can highlight, put tags, and notes in the Gospel Library App on my ipod and have it show up in my Study Notebook on the site.

I loved it...and HIGHLY recommend it.

Happy Sunday!!!

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Such an enlightening morning...

...and only 6:30 am!!!

I have been able to stick to my goal of studying my scriptures every morning (from 6 - 6:30) and it has made such an impact on my days.

This morning I was reading from 3 Nephi 21. The verse that had the most impact on me this morning was 29, it says:

29 And they shall go out from all nations; and they shall not go out in haste, nor go by flight, for I will go before them, saith the Father, and I will be their rearward.

Initially I thought the last word of the verse was reward...which made sense, having the spirit of God with you is definitely a reward, but it isn't...it is rearward. What?

So I followed the footnote to Isaiah 52: 11-12 which is nearly identical and ends with the word "rereward"...good grief, I don't know that one either.

Footnote time.

The footnote says: OR rearguard (rearguard makes more sense to me, someone who has your back)

There was another reference to Doctrine & Covenants 49:27 which gives a little explanation, also I just love these verses:

26 Behold, I say unto you, go forth as I have commanded you; repent of all your sins; ask and ye shall receive; knock and it shall be opened unto you.

27 Behold, I will go before you and be your rearward; and I will be in your midst, and you shall not be confounded.

28 Behold, I am Jesus Christ, and I come quickly. Even so. Amen.

So what did I learn from my scripture study today?

AT LEAST 3 things (the 3 most important)

1. I am blown away by how connected the scriptures are. I started with a question about 1 word in 1 verse and by following the footnotes; I not only found my answer (the meaning of rearward) but so much more than that. I started in the Book of Mormon, moved over to the Old Testament, and ended in the Doctrine & Covenants. Using all of these, I found a fullness of knowledge. Amazing.

2. My Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ has got my back (He is my rearward). Something I learned from D&C 49:26, is that all I have to do is ask, because he loves me.

3. Finally, and most importantly, things are done in God's time. The first thing I read, 3 Nephi 21, especially in verse 29, was that despite my excitement, God goes first, and then we come to share what we learn.

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Anyway, long post, but wonderful morning.

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Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3...

Today is what I am referring to as my..."back up" day.

I'm researching for my thesis for the moment.

Which is done in libraries, online, and sometimes in my sleep.

These things do happen.

So it is reading, typing, organizing, pictures, scans,..a million other bits of things.

Anyway, big project, LOTS and LOTS of data and most of it is electronic at the moment.

So at least once a week I backup this data on external hard drives, other computers, online, and then also hard copies.

Sound paranoid?

You would think so unless you knew that I have had 2 computers crash right after I felt impressed to back them up.

So, with that lesson firmly in mind, I have backup days.

But there is some waiting time as files copy and move.

It is during this time that I allow myself to "feed" those distractions that have been threatening me all week.

Like learning html coding, or photoshop tricks, or today, learning to make gif's.

Because, you see, if I didn't do them on Saturday's, I might try to do them during the week.

And then nothing would EVER get done.

For example, when I wanted to learn to make an avatar in Photoshop, I waited until it was conference weekend to turn my little sisters into avatars.


It was hard, but it was a good reward for doing my homework.

Good grief, I'm a dork.

Today, as my files transferred, I learned to make a gif file.

This is my first try.

It is taken of a video of me...tackling the bug.

Oh don't worry,

I still have a few more hours of files, transferring, and syncing to get through.

There will be more where this came from.

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Changing my life one pita at a time.

This past Saturday I spent a little time cooking.

For Christmas Santa gave me a KitchenAid.

I love Santa...aka the parentals.

I'm thinking I will name it Syracuse...I think.  That is what I am feeling at the moment.

On Saturday I used Syracuse for the first time to make delicious pita bread.

The best part of the process?

I didn't kill the yeast!

It rose so perfectly!

It was also uber sticky but apparently that was how it was supposed to be.

The next step was to let the little things rise and then bake for a few minutes.

I was going to take a picture but I was so excited I forgot.

Yay for delicious times!

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Christmas Break and the New Year

It has been a pretty good break.

I spent the first half of the break grading.

The first half includes everything from the 12th of December through Christmas, the 26th AND the 27th.

So maybe it was a little more than half.

It is important to do grading over breaks...

because then you won't see your students...

and strangle them.

Ugh...grading.

Also I am the worst person in the world.

Not actually, but I felt like it for a few hours one day this break.

Rosie was FILTHY...and her nails were really long (which was painful for anyone who tried to hold her).

So I decided to cut her nails and then give her a bath.

(I did it in the opposite order once and the cuts on my face and arms were a lesson to always cut the nails BEFORE bath time)

Unfortunately Rosie decided to be super hyper and jumpy while I was clipping her nails.

And I accidentally hit "the quick" and she bled...a lot.

We got the bleeding to stop pretty fast but then she kept licking it and it would start gushing blood all over again.

So...

this was my solution:

She was not happy about it.

At all.

But when we finally took it off she did not lick her foot anymore.

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In other news:

My first semester of research is starting on Wednesday.

What does that mean?

No classes.

No tests.

No papers...well kind of.

Just research for my awesome thesis.

Which I am trying to plan and schedule right now.

I'm a bit of a dork that way.

My favorite present this Christmas was my new Moleskin planner.

Life is good.

Happy New Year!

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Round 2: It passes all my understanding.

I am a bit in shock.

Just a bit.

And that statement is just a bit of an understatement.

:)

I have been in a bit of a funk trying to do a little self-evaluation.

Am I making the right choices?

Am I on the right path?

Am I looking at where this path is taking me, not just what I am doing at the moment?

Do I feel good about this direction?

Am I happy?

Why or why not?

Is there a purpose to what I am doing?

I could go on forever but these are some of the things I have been thinking about.

Sometimes life takes you on such an amazing ride so fast you feel like you are losing control.

So I wanted to make sure I knew what the heck I was doing - or at least trying to do.

Less than a year ago a very generous person donated a significant amount of money to grad students traveling to a specific dig in Apamea, Syria.

That miraculously included me.

(Click here for recap)

Long story short Syria fell apart and it was no longer safe for me to go so I instituted plan B and traveled all over Jordan, Italy (here, and here too!) and Great Britain.

It was a dream come true.

Since that point things have become increasingly...overwhelming.

1. I started my last class before my official thesis research.  
2. I presented at a research symposium for the first time - my own research (ahhhh!!!)
3. My thesis adviser approached me about trying to get funding for more research for my thesis this summer and needed a list of theaters to go to.
4. I've finished my coursework and am starting my personal research.
5. I am also getting ready to propose my thesis so I can start writing it.

Once Upon A Time: The Evolution of the Desktop.

When I was a senior in high school, for Christmas, one of my friends gave me a new desktop computer.

I was pretty stoked.

So I took it with me to school and typed a lot of papers, played a lot of solitaire and minesweeper, and basically survived my 4 years of university with that marvelous beast.

Not that I didn't sometimes "step out" with other technology.

Out of necessity my sophomore year of college I bought my first laptop to work with my desktop.

I named him Douglas, Douglas the Dell.

Yes, I name my technology, "whatcha gonna do 'bout it?"

After a couple of years of teamwork with the desktop, Douglas perished while the desktop lived on.

Yes, that is duct tape.

 Apparently two trips to the middle east and being on a few other digs was really, really hard on Douglas.

I knew Douglas was on his way out so I replaced him the summer before my first year of grad school.

With Tahla.

Who is marvelous, light, and has already traveled around the world with me this year.

Tahla in Arabic means "little palm tree". 

(or so I am told)

Considering the size and weight difference I thought it was appropriate.

I bought Tahla right after I got back from Syria and started working on a dig in Utah for the rest of the summer.

I had lent my computer to my familia while I was gone.

I came back and the monitor no longer worked and the computer had a few nasty viruses.  

So I reformatted it but it was starting to dawn on me that my desktop would not last much longer.

So I began saving and preparing myself for its death.

(backing up things and so forth).

It took a year and a half for it to die.

It happened this Thanksgiving.

I was angry at first but then I was relieved because I got black Friday prices.

So I bought my new best friend...who I haven't named yet. ;)

We got double monitors at job 1 and now I am a woman obsessed.  

It took me a few days to realize I could hook up my old monitor and then have love at home too.

It seems silly but the double monitor has changed my life.

Writing and researching is FANTASTIC!!!

So there you go.

The evolution of my computer life.

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Wow, it has been a really long time.

The last time I blogged was September 18th.  That is ridiculous. :)

A LOT has happened since then.

I turned 24.

My brother Juanita got engaged.

My brother Juanita got married. 

I am working on my last class before my thesis research.

I've been so busy I have barely taken any pictures in weeks.

(that may not seem like a big deal but I usually take a few everyday)

Hmmm....

I am in the middle of writing a paper...

ok, not that interesting.

Basically Jon's wedding, school, and...I'm not sure what else (bad sign) have taken over my life for the past few months and left no survivors. 

To show this, here are the only pictures I have taken since September 18th.

Ridiculous.

Walked by this as I was heading toward the library on Halloween.

Only at BYU 

:)

Fall leaves falling as I am walking to work.

Deruda took Rosie running 

(meaning he let her off her leash and let her go wild)

in an old parking lot.

She ripped up her paws and we had to bandage them.

I'm still mad at Deruda.

They took down a sculpture on campus that I used to play in as a child.

It was not earthquake proof so they took it down for the winter and are going to rebuild it in the spring.

Members of the family of deer that live on the hill between upper and lower campus decided to come down.

For fun I guess.

I was walking from job 1 to job 2.

Yes, I have 2.

Yes, I love them both.

The top of my car a week or so ago.

I wore flip flops and a skirt the day before.

Gotta love Utah weather.

This is from the inside of my car looking through my windshield on that same day.

It took a bit to scrape through that mess.

It was fun though.

:)

Juanita over Thanksgiving break.

Cousin Taylor taught him how to do a back bend.

He was showing off for his cute wife.

True story.

:)

In summary,

life is good,

I've been unbelievably busy,

and the semester is about to end.

YES!

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Consequences of not sleeping

Apparently lately there have been a lot of consequences in my life.

(Consequences for writers block a few days ago being an example)

For another example, here is my list of consequences linked to my inability to sleep this week.

1. Next to no working out - this makes me cranky and my muscles tight.
2. Not getting my homework done - I try so hard but the page keeps going in and out of focus.  Unfortunately now I am several hundred pages behind in reading and have not done what my thesis adviser insisted be done...by tomorrow.  Guess I'll be able to do it tonight since I probably won't be sleeping.
3. Being a tad bit antisocial - I'm cranky why would I want to be around people?
4. Eating badly - I'm to tired to make things so I pick up gross, fast, and angry food that I eat, even though it makes me sick.
5. Getting sick - No rest and bad food (among other things) have contributed to the state I am in this morning.  

Even though this was an incredibly tough week for me there were some definite positives.

1. I met a world-famous anthropologist - I helped pick him up from the airport and he was very kind and interesting.  Not one of those egomaniacs whose articles you read and sometimes run into.
2. I made it to all of my classes and all but one of my activities.
3. I got a new project at work (which adds majorly to the stress level, but which is a fantastic opportunity).
4. Rosie, my family's dog, loves me.  That sounds a bit silly but when you've had an incredibly rough week there is nothing better than the softest little thing running up to you, jumping in your arms and kissing your face.  She also loves to sit in my lap and just cuddle which is nice after a hard day.
5. The poster sale.  I got 4 new posters that I was going to stick in my kitchen, but I liked them so much I stuck them in my bedroom.  Maybe I'll post them someday - not today though.

So there you go.

There is good and bad to every day - and in this post every week.

So I try to keep on keeping on and count my blessings along the way.

September 11th

On September 11, 2001...

I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock radio.

In the middle of the song the DJ said that an airplane had crashed into the World Trade Center.

Half asleep I didn't think it was real.

As my mom drove me to school that day I told her, but she didn't believe me.

I thought I had dreamt it.

As I walked into class every television was on and it was real.

I was in my freshman English class when I saw the south tower fall live.

I couldn't breathe.

I don't remember much else after that morning.

We were sent to all our classes, but I don't remember doing anything.

By lunch the principal of our school asked the teachers to turn of the television.

When I got home that evening we prayed as we watched rescue workers attempting to find survivors.

That was my September 11th.

Today I am grateful for the gospel that gives me perspective in the face of tragedy,

for my country,

and for the example of people who sacrifice themselves in an effort to save those around them.

That is what it is to be truly Christlike.

9/11 we will never forget.